20 Succulents to Try This Spring As the days grow longer and temperatures rise, spring is the perfect time to breathe new life into your indoor and outdoor plant collection. Succulents are a fantastic choice, offering unparalleled variety, drought tolerance, and architectural beauty with minimal fuss. Whether you are a seasoned collector or just starting to explore, these plants offer unique colors, shapes, and textures to liven up any windowsill, patio, or garden bed.
The new season brings active growth, making it an ideal time to propagate, plant, and watch your collection flourish. Here are 20 succulent varieties to try this spring, ranging from popular staples to unique collector items, that will bring joy to your garden. Classic and Reliable Succulents
Some succulents are popular for a reason—they are resilient, propagate easily, and look incredible year-round. These classics are excellent for beginners looking to fill in gaps in their collection.
1. Echeveria ‘Perle von Nurnberg’: Often cited as the quintessential succulent, this plant features stunning lavender-pink leaves arranged in a tight, geometric rosette. It thrives in bright light and brings vibrant color to any sunny spot.
2. Graptopetalum paraguayense (Ghost Plant): Highly resilient, this succulent grows in trailing rosettes that fade from a powdery grey to a lavender-pink blush. It is fast-growing and perfect for hanging planters.
3. Sedum morganianum (Burro’s Tail): Known for its long, trailing stems packed with delicate, pale green leaves, the Burro’s Tail is perfect for hanging baskets. It looks like a flowing, braided rope of succulent foliage.
4. Crassula ovata (Jade Plant): A reliable classic, the Jade plant grows into a small tree-like shrub. It is incredibly hardy and adaptable, making it perfect for both beginners and experienced plant enthusiasts.
5. Haworthia fasciata (Zebra Plant): Known for its dark green, spikey leaves with white, horizontal stripes, this hardy succulent is excellent for smaller containers and tolerates lower light conditions better than many others. Colorful and Distinctive Succulents
If you want to add a punch of color and dramatic texture, these varieties offer unique foliage that goes beyond the standard green.
6. Sedum nussbaumerianum (Coppertone Stonecrop): This sedum turns a brilliant, warm orange-copper color when exposed to bright, direct light. It makes a vibrant, low-growing groundcover or filler in mixed pots.
7. Echeveria ‘Topsy Turvy’: This unique cultivar features pale, silvery-blue leaves that are curled upwards, giving the rosette a distinct, architectural, and slightly chaotic appearance.
8. Sempervivum ‘Cobweb’: Part of the hardy Hens and Chicks family, this variety features intricate, white, web-like fibers covering the tops of the small, tightly packed green rosettes.
9. Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ (Black Rose): Providing intense dark, almost black, color to the garden, this Aeonium grows in large, rosette-tipped stalks. It acts as a stunning focal point.
10. Kalanchoe luciae (Paddle Plant): These succulents have large, round leaves that resemble paddle-like shapes. The leaves blush with bright red tips, especially during cooler spring nights. Unique Textures and Shapes
For those looking to expand beyond typical rosette shapes, these succulents bring strange, sculptural, and fascinating textures to the mix.
11. Senecio radicans (String of Bananas): A faster-growing alternative to the popular String of Pearls, this succulent features cascading, crescent-shaped, fleshy leaves that resemble tiny bananas.
12. Crassula marnieriana ‘Hottentot’: This charming, trailing succulent looks like a string of small, stacked, blue-green buttons. It’s perfect for cascading over the edge of a pot.
13. Haworthia cooperi: Known for its translucent, jelly-like leaves, this small, clump-forming plant acts like a living jewel, allowing light to shine through its leaves.
14. Gasteria ‘Little Warty’: This cultivar features rough, bumpy, tongue-shaped leaves with mottled green and white patterns, bringing an interesting, tactile element to the garden.
15. Echeveria ‘Lola’: This small, pale lavender-blue succulent forms a perfect, compact, rose-like shape. It is a slow grower but worth the wait for its sheer symmetry. Hardy Outdoor Options
Spring is the time to get plants in the ground, and these varieties are tough enough for rock gardens, ground cover, or year-round outdoor, container planting.
16. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’: A must-have for any garden, this Sedum produces broccoli-like green heads that turn deep pink in late summer and dark red in autumn, providing structure all spring and summer.
17. Sempervivum tectorum (Common Houseleek): These tough “Hens and Chicks” are exceptionally cold-hardy, multiplying quickly in the spring to form dense, living carpets of color.
18. Delosperma cooperi (Ice Plant): When spring turns to early summer, this ground-hugging succulent produces a carpet of neon purple, daisy-like flowers that attract pollinators.
19. Opuntia microdasys (Bunny Ears Cactus): A friendly-looking cactus with flat, oval pads covered in fine, yellow, polka-dotted glochids. It makes a fun, structural statement, but handle with care.
20. Crassula ‘Springtime’: As its name suggests, this plant is perfect for the season, producing clusters of sweet-smelling, pink, star-shaped flowers that bloom on top of its green leaves.
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